Definition of Jealousy
by Objective Mistress
Summary: Jealousy. Noun, plural. Jealous, resentment against a rival, a person enjoying success or advantage, etc., or against another's success or advantage itself. Mental uneasiness from suspicion or fear of rivalry, unfaithfulness, etc., as in love or aims.


Summary: Jealousy. Noun, plural. Jealous, resentment against a rival, a person enjoying success or advantage, etc., or against another's success or advantage itself. Mental uneasiness from suspicion or fear of rivalry, unfaithfulness, etc., as in love or aims.

_AN: Told you there would be some new stuff! There will be some "Miles to Go Before I Sleep" on the way. In the meantime, enjoy this and wait for tomorrow night's episode! By the way, Toyota, please stop sponsoring Bones. kthxbye_

**Definition of Jealousy**

_Jealousy. Noun, plural. Jealous, resentment against a rival, a person enjoying success or advantage, etc., or against another's success or advantage itself. Mental uneasiness from suspicion or fear of rivalry, unfaithfulness, etc., as in love or aims. From Middle English, gelusie, jelosie, Old French, gelosie. Can be confused: envy. Synonyms, see envy._

Ever since Temperance Brennan understood that the understanding of words were key to the understanding of greater concepts, she made it a lifelong habit to look up words that she was unaware of. Language by nature is rich with nuance which takes years of proper, diligent study to master. It was this very attention to detail allowed her to remain fluent in Spanish, French, Latin, Chinese, Japanese, Norwegian, German, and enough Russian to subsist when needed.

Jealousy was a concept that Brennan never truly understood. It was a raw, uncivilized emotion in her mind. She had certainly felt it before, but true comprehension eluded her.

She remembered feeling jealous while watching the parents of other students in her high school amble through the science fair, fawning over their offspring's mediocre projects. But that was one instance that she considered largely out of the ordinary.

Jealousy simply was not familiar; it was foreign in fact. She was the top in her field in both theoretical knowledge and in practical applications. She never felt jealousy when a colleague knew more than her or received more commendations; this simply pushed her to work harder. She never felt jealousy when other departments at the Jeffersonian received more funding or grants than her; it only meant that those who were given control of these monetary assets were poorly educated on the importance of her and the team's work.

But then of course, her current situation could be considered largely unusual.

Well, only slightly. The above statement was hyperbole intended only for dramatic effect. Brennan was working at the Jeffersonian as a forensic anthropologist paired with FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth.

That was just it.

Never had _the_ Dr. Temperance Brennan expected to feel jealousy for the romantic interested of her partner.

This was a distraction; a deviation from the plan; a disaster. Worst of all, she didn't seem to have any say in it in the slightest. It was like she had passed over the event horizon of a black hole; return was impossible, and destination was utterly unknown…if there was a destination at all.

Matters of the "heart" left her a salmon out of water. Not true matters of the heart though; despite the fact that she was not a cardiac expert.

As an author of popular fiction, books that dealt with this sort of thing were practically thrust upon her by her publishers. After all, that's the sort of thing that the New York Times best sellers list enjoyed. And consequentially, that was the sort of books they bought. But when had Brennan ever cared for trivial, unknowledgeable opinions like that?

"Unrequited love, jealousy, vampires...all that stuff goes over well with the biggest buyers; teens and adult females," she recalled a publisher said once, just when she was testing the waters. She had of course rebuffed this publishing house's offer; the above was truly all cared about; no concern for good forensic science in the slightest.

_"What are you gonna do about it?"_ Her brother always liked to say that. It gave him more of an alpha male quality.

But what was she going to do about it?

**- - - - - - - - - -B&B- - - - - - - - - -**

_Like I said, just a little short something. Leave a review, I'd love to hear what you've got to say._


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